MILWAUKEE — Food truck owners in Milwaukee are facing rising costs as gas prices continue to climb, impacting both mobile and stationary vendors across the city.
Andre Richards, owner of Gumbo Valley, loves serving his customers but said the cost to power his business has more than doubled.
"I’ve been doing it for six years," Richards said.
AAA says a year ago, drivers paid 60 cents less per gallon for unleaded fuel and $1.50 less for diesel. For Richards, what used to take $14 to get through the day has significantly increased.
"We’re almost at 25, 26, 27 dollars a gallon to fill this up only for about 5-6 hours," Richards said.
"Then you got to put in another 20-40 dollars in there to you know last throughout the night," Richards said.
The fuel is not just for getting around; it also powers the truck's operations.
"I can’t operate at all without electricity," Richards said.
"And my electricity comes from the 12-volt wattage, and the 12-volt wattage comes from gasoline," Richards said.
As a result, Richards is eating the increased costs.
At Zocolo’s on Milwaukee's southside, even food trucks that do not move are being impacted by the price at the pump.
Ivan Rubio, owner of Sapsap, is keeping his menu prices the same right now with hopes that business picks up in the busy season.
"I can’t put a different price every month on my menu," Rubio said.
"For the business, it’s a little hard to do it, but it’s what it is," Rubio said.
Both Rubio and Richards said the best way for the community to help is to support them by stopping by and ordering ahead if possible.
"Hopefully, it doesn’t rise too much where we have to start taking out loans. We can’t afford it," Richards said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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